


yesterday's gone, but tomorrow is on our side

by lunarblazes



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: ACTUALLY I MANAGED BETA READERS THIS TIME, Lots of Angst, THEY’RE SO COOL, [bbh voice] LANGUAGE, after that it's free reign, and now all i know how to do is write alien adventures, bad... :), because my first fic fandom was twrp, dream has a Bad Time, dream is a star man, every single name in this story is bullshitted on the fly, everyone's an alien!, first chapter is an author's note, george is a lizard, i PLANNED THIS wowie, i can’t help but write bro moments with sap and dream, it’s my calling in life tbh, look at them go, not minecraft-centric, not smp canon or anything, probably found family, sapnap's made of lava, space au space au space au, there's a few swears, they're having fun space adventures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:20:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27650564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarblazes/pseuds/lunarblazes
Summary: Dream and Sapnap make their living in racing among the stars. They're content with this slightly illegal lot in life until a shadow of Dream's past comes back to haunt him. But with darkness, a light can be found. Two new players are cast into their group as they run for their lives from the shadows that seem to grow longer the more Dream runs.A lot of things are about to change.-title from Destination by TWRP!
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Darryl Noveschosch, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, GeorgeNotFound & Darryl Noveschosch, GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), No romance - Relationship
Comments: 11
Kudos: 42





	1. quick story notes!

ALRIGHT SO UHHHH POG!

i've been working on this plot for a little while now, maybe a little over a month? ish? i just wanted to put this little disclaimer here for reasons before i put out the first chapter of Actual Content.

first thing! this au is pretty goddamn long. i have about 70% of it outlined so far (all of it is planned in my head) and it's. long. which is GREAT for me because i love talking about this shit and also because SPAAACE HOURS. a lot of this will be questionable bullshitting. it will be dumb. it's far removed from minecraft or any smp lore. not all of it will make sense, because i am stupid and my foresight is about as good as a crushed walnut's. this is purely for me to just go apeshit writing about funky space men!

second thing! if for some ungodly reason you want to make fanart or write something for this au. i would actually straight up die. you don't need to ask permission to do anything, literally EVERYTHING will be so cool. one thing i will mention is that i would love it if you didn't draw/write ship art or nsfw for this au! i'm uncomfy with that stuff (and also a minor) and would super appreciate if you didn't make any for my little story. all actions in this fic will be purely sfw and platonic. no shade to nsfw or ship writers- as long as you're respectful, have fun- but i'm just not comfortable with that! sorry!

if you'd like to tag me in your works on other socials (read: PLEASE PLEASE TAG ME I WOULD CRY) i have a twitter, an instagram, and a tumblr! twitter is blocked_rose, insta is roseblazing, and tumblr is also roseblazing. refs for this au (and a few spoilers lol) are posted on my socials as well!

i had. SO MUCH help with this story. shoutout to EVERYONE in the au server i have because you're all so fucking cool and epic and about 900 percent of my motivation to write, as well as your double roles as my BETA READERS! finch, puff, gz, ari, ren, snare, chip, naps, jasper, liz, and blues: you're all epic and amazing and ily. special shoutout to liz (@demizorua please send them love) for helping me with a lot of these scene ideas and also a lot of proofreading, and to naps, for listening to us lose all our collective minds on the sixteenth with confused support and love. 

if anybody here has ideas or predictions or critiques with how the story's going, please comment them or feel free to dm me on any of the socials listed above! i'd love to talk about your thoughts bro please hmu! 

every chapter's title is from a song! i list the songs at the end chapter notes, but i also have an au playlist on spotify in case any of you share my music taste of lesbian pop and alternative rock. feel free to listen to it and be concerned at some of the songs i chose to represent this story. <https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5LMRb0MYPX0VlaqGN775QA?si=guACaxydQaGaOKoIfefdDA>

last thing, i promise. this fic will probably (read: hopefully) update twice a week? i will for certain put out new chapters every friday, and the other day will depend on how weird my schedule gets. i pre-write these chapters and try to stay at least two chapters ahead of the one i'm posting, so i hope this'll turn out alright. chapters will get longer as we go, i promise!

thanks for reading through all this! i hope you enjoy the story i've prepared :^D!!!


	2. silver apples and golden pears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the stars begin to fall  
> mirrored in your swimming pool  
> the wind lets out a hopeless sigh  
> i wish i could fly

Dream had been having a terrible day even before the shadows started moving.

They’d been flying through an asteroid field, a commonplace practice for the two racers. Nothing out of the ordinary, just in and out so they could get to the planet where their next race was scheduled. Dream was pretty sure it was called Ieri or… something like that… he wasn’t particularly good at remembering names. Sapnap had sworn he’d only taken his eyes off the field for two seconds before an asteroid had come spinning into their ship, slamming full force into their engine compartment. How that had happened, Dream had no idea, but once the engine started sputtering and coughing like a drowning sailor they’d both figured that it was time to take it to a repair shop. 

The closest civilization nearby was a little moon, full of caves and small oceans and lakes. If they were lucky, the repairs would only take a few hours and wouldn’t cost much, and they’d be able to race without chopping off a limb to pay or, even worse, being forced to cancel their spots on the track. 

Of course, they weren't nearly that lucky. The mechanic informed them that it would take him about a day to fully restore the engine, due to a slight shortage of parts. Sapnap and Dream had spent a while grumbling and haggling with this verdict, but the mechanic held that this was the only way he could get it done, so the two set out in search of an inn to occupy for the night. Sapnap had set off in the direction of a market to grab them some food for the week since they were on a habited planet, so Dream was now on his own, heading to the nearby, slightly questionable housing development. The neon sign declaring vacancy was cracked slightly, the pink lights interrupted by little spindly veins of dead-eyed black peering through. The paint on the walls was definitely peeling. Dream knew that if he touched it it’d probably come off in his hands. It wasn’t much different than some of the other places he’d stayed with Sapnap, though, so as long as it was cheap, it’d work. 

Dream pressed his hand against the door, letting it squeak open under his palms. It was an old-fashioned thing, no automatic mechanism in sight, only the telltale groan of metal hinges on the solid doorframe. Poking his head through the door, Dream looked around for a receptionist or payment method of some kind. He’d take a droid, too, he wasn’t very picky. Weirdly, nobody was sitting at the desk in the front of the room. He scrunched his eyebrows together, stepping curiously into the room. “Hey, anyone there? I’m looking for a temporary room for the night. Sign said vacancy out front…?”

The door behind him abruptly swung shut, making him jump. He realized his muscles had been tensing, ready to spring at any moment, and he forced them to relax. The room didn’t even seem that strange, he was just on edge for no reason. It would be fine, just a slightly strange motel office. Nothing weird about anything. 

Of course, this was exactly when things decided to get weird.

A strange sound like the static that buzzed through the air when Sapnap used the wrong radio frequency filled his head, making him wince and cover his ears. The sound didn’t stop there, though, only echoing louder and louder through the room. Dream called out again, panic creeping into his voice. “HELLO? WHO’S THERE?”

He tried to take a step forward, only to find that walking was suddenly a lot harder. It felt like he was being slowed down somehow, as if time was sticking in the air and holding him down. The static fizzed and popped, a voice beginning to stand out in the midst of the frequency. Dream had no idea what it sounded like even as it was playing through his mind. It hummed a tuneless melody, flat and dull, pounding in tandem with his heart. 

Dream glanced around wildly at the walls, still trying to break out of the strange slowing constraints. His foot finally hit the floor as his gaze met the neon sign behind him. It was flickering even more than before, its light petering out as the rest of the flimsy lightbulbs in the room followed suit. He was this close to busting his wings out and simply running, but the strange slowing effect seemed to be having an effect on his mind as well as his body. 

The walls began to move, launching his heart about 300 feet up into the stars above. Dream stumbled back, or at least, he tried to. His wings gathered behind him, much slower than he would have liked, but at least they were working. The familiar warmth of the stardust behind him was comforting; the dust made the strange time spell cast on him fade a little, clearing his head slightly of the static and the random melody. Something hissed in the surrounding darkness, making him realize that the walls weren’t moving— the darkness was. He felt his stomach twist into several painful knots. 

Dream wasn’t a fool. He knew what would happen if he didn’t leave this place  _ now.  _ He wasn’t sure if those tales about his home planet were true, but he knew that it would be unwise to test such a myth when it was staring you in the face. 

Dream spread his wings, flicking stars from his back as he turned to run. Nothing in the world could have tempted him to look back as the static grew almost deafening in his ears, in his mind. He knew if he dared glance behind him, the shadows in the room would be taking their chance to grab him. He willed himself to gather enough energy to a boost himself up. The built up energy exploded behind his wings, throwing him out of the dilapidated motel and back out into the normal flow of time once more. 

Dream wasn’t sure if the shadows were still chasing him, but he didn’t stop using his wings until he was back at the mechanic shop. He wasn’t even sure if his feet were touching the ground anymore. His wings couldn’t make him fly, they were far too small, he knew that, but he’d sworn that they’d helped him go so fast that the same feeling of weightlessness had been achieved. 

Sapnap was in the ship, standing next to the meager bits of iron he’d managed to grab with their remaining funds. Dream was pretty sure he was snacking on their spare screws, but that was the least of concerns at the moment.

“Sapnap, we have to  _ go,” _ he panted, his wings squished against the wall as the door behind him swung shut. Sapnap shot him a confused look. 

“What? Why? Our ship— the repairs?”

_ “Please,”  _ Dream begged, his wings fluttering behind him, flexing in panic. Sapnap seemed to realiz something was wrong, seeing as his wings were out, and nodded, slightly hesitant, but not delaying any longer. Seconds later, the familiar hum of the engine (or at least, the equivalent) started up, and they were off. Dream slid to the ground, shaking slightly as he pressed his hands to his mask. His left hand went to play with the clasp that held it on his face as a nervous habit.

That… wasn’t what he’d expected. That was a living myth that had come to life in front of him. That had chased him down. 

_ It doesn’t matter. We left the planet. It’s gone now. I can… I can focus on the race, now. I can win.  _

He couldn’t quite seem to convince himself, even with the comforting presence of space around him and the safety of the ship currently jetting them off to Ieri. Some gut feeling told him to keep one eye open. 

He knew he was being watched. Somehow he was sure. Dream ran his fingers over the edges of the porcelain mask covering his face as he tried to remember how to breathe. Every time the engine hiccupped, he was sure they’d cease movement and that he’d be toast. Vanished into the dark, following his home. 

Sapnap entered the room. Upon finding Dream in the exact same spot and position he'd left him in, the younger shot him a worried look. Dream took a shaky breath, gently resting his head on the wall behind him. He shot his friend a thumbs-up, forcing his wings to disperse once more. Sapnap took the hint, though he still looked concerned, orbiting his friend anxiously. 

Dream appreciated his best friend’s presence, the heat from his skin a warm beacon shining through the haze left behind from the bizarre happening that had just occurred. He let himself calm down, just slightly. Exhaling softly, Dream distracted himself by planning the next upgrades to his small racing shuttle. New plasma engine, impossibly good leather seats. Not the cracked and weathered third or fourth hand leather he’d gotten with the old thing.

The engine hit another snag, coughing for a moment, and his wings snapped back to attention. His spine tensed as his head bounced forward, heart racing a billion miles faster than even the best plasma engine money could buy. 

The slow, reassuring hum eventually resumed once more, and Dream slid a hand down his mask, sighing in shaky relief. 

It was going to be a long ride to Ieri.

His suspicions were only confirmed when a surprised yelp bounced through the ship, loud, panicked, and familiar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title and summary from moon theory by miami horror!  
> -  
> HERE WE GO EVERYONE! hope you liked this first look into what's goin' on for our favorite minecraft men! leave a comment if you'd like, those always make my day!


	3. the firestorm ignites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> turn the cockpit clockwise (towards the sunrise)  
> i hear a voice in the back of my head  
> screaming this is suicide  
> did you hear what i said?  
> but then it fades into nothing with the rest of the light and sound
> 
> i'm on my way out!

When the ship started shaking under his feet, George figured something might be wrong. In his experience as a mechanic, ships  _ usually _ didn't shake just because their engines were out of commission. 

Suddenly, the ship lurched forward, sending George grasping for anything nearby he could hold onto. His fingers met nothing but air as his shoulder smashed against the tight room’s wall, the entire ship shaking. His tools clattered to the floor as the engine started up, sputtering and coughing up thick smoke. 

“What the hell…?” He muttered, stepping away from the engine as soon as he regained his balance. That thing was too dangerous to be flying with, what kind of an idiot would—?

A bright light and a loud yelp caused him to spin to his left. For a moment he just stared at the strange figure before him, and the man stared at him in turn. He had dark hair and a white headband accentuating his dark eyes. Parts of his skin appeared to glow brightly through cracks of what looked like rock covering his forearms and neck and dotting his cheeks. He had a bit of facial hair and seemed very big, though George wasn’t sure whether that was because he was physically large or if it was just the thick, high-collared coat he was wearing.

Oh, yeah. The glow. It made George’s eyes, accustomed to the dim light of caverns, hurt just looking at him. He radiated heat and light and everything George was not used to; everything that most certainly was  _ not _ a cave.

Another split second and George was gone, crawling away into the ceiling. There was a vent above him, said the deepest part of his mind. Run, climb in and up, get  _ away _ . Tunnels, caves, darkness, that was good. He heard the man swear and a loud, muffled noise as he moved to inspect the vent George had managed to nestle himself into. George abruptly recognized the man as the one who’d come to him earlier, the one who’d complained about the time an engine repair took. As if that was something George could control.

“Oh boy,” the bright man muttered, “Dream’s gonna flip. Can you come down here, please? I really don’t know how good for our oxygen supply it is for you to be up there.”

George squinted. The bright man’s light was searing, giving him a pounding headache. “Can you, like, stop glowing? It’s messing me up.”

“Can I stop— no, I can’t stop glowing!” The man looked incredulous, staring up at George. His open mouth revealed a row of sharp teeth, tinted a dull color. “Have you never met a Scoria?”

“I dunno. Never left Lyda. And you still hurt my eyes.” George shrugged. His instincts were still yelling at him to hide, to run, to get away from this very bright and hot stranger, and he definitely wanted to, but he had no idea how to make him leave. He was right about the oxygen thing; it was only a matter of time before he'd have to get down from the ceiling.

“You’ve never—“ The stranger looked incredulous for a moment before his face shrank back into realization. “Hmm. I guess that would make sense. You guys are, like, cave lizards, right?”

George felt irritation roll up his spine. He let go of the ceiling, dropping back down to the floor. “No. We’re not.”

The stranger watched him drop down. George saw his eyes flick to George’s scales and tail, his short, dull claws and slit-pupiled eyes. The stranger turned away, shrugging. “Alright. You should leave here, though. The rest of the ship’s a lot bigger than just the engine room.”

The earlier irritation flared again. George’s hands twitched. This guy… was very annoying. Nevertheless, George followed him out of the room.

The stranger led him out into the outer hallway he’d been through earlier while he was searching for the engine room. It would be much better to go through the vents, George thought. Too much space for things to attack in this wide of a hallway. 

He was then led into a slightly bigger room occupied by a sleek black table and about 800 different kinds of metal patches along the floors and walls. George blinked owlishly. How much had this ship even been through? It looked like it’d been made somewhere around 200 years ago and passed down from someone who’d flown it into several suns. Held together by some miracle of welding and wiring and a little bit of luck. 

He  _ really _ didn't want to be on something held together by luck.

The glowing man seemed to be looking worriedly at someone else, who was speaking to him in a low voice. George couldn’t hear what they were saying, but as he entered the room, Glowworm stood up and turned to him nonchalantly. “Hey,” he said, as if it was the most easy thing in the world.

Glowworm’s friend was a strange character. This guy had a strangely bright jacket on, a piss-yellow color with white stripes around the arms. A pendant that looked decently valuable dangled around his throat above a light-colored shirt. It was a fairly normal outfit, if you discounted the fact that the fingertips peeking out from his black gloves were nebulaeic, various shades of blue scattered across his skin. 

And then there was the strange mask. That was definitely memorable, and marked him as the guy who’d come into his little place of business along with Glowworm earlier. He’d seemed a lot more comfortable then, but who was George to question that? Sometimes you just have a bad day.

Something cold settled in his stomach as he caught a glance of an inky black sky through the smudged window on the ship’s door. The anxiety curled around his spine, laying itself across his back, but he refused to let himself think that was a possibility. Lyda’s skies were always that dark. It would have been stranger if the sky was light out right now. He forced his gaze away from the glass to see Glowworm heading out of the room. Not knowing what else to do, he trailed behind him, leaving the strange masked man sitting alone on the ground.

The next room was the cockpit of the ship; George could tell as soon as he stepped inside. There were rows and rows of buttons and controls, haphazardly labeled with the chicken scratch of someone who looked like they’d barely learned how to write common 2 days ago.

George didn’t really have time to dwell on the messy handwriting, though. The cockpit had a large wraparound window, coating everything above their heads in thick, clear glass. 

And what he saw outside was decidedly not Lyda. 

He should have known, really— I mean, what else would the ship have taken off for? Why else would they need to leave? He’d just hoped it wasn’t an actual reality that he’d have to live with. And yet, here it was, staring him in the face with bright, straining white eyes.

Outside of the ship everything looked like a yawning chasm. It was interrupted by strange, bright lights, burning through the void like flames of warning. Debris bounced around them, hitting the ship as they passed. George saw a hunk of rock slam into the ship’s wing, and he winced. Glowworm seemed unfazed, simply running a steering test and not even looking up.

“What— wh— um, uh, hi? Hello? Where am I? What is going  _ on? _ ” George whimpered, his voice raising. Glowworm looked up, seeming to just remember that George was there. 

“Oh. It’s just space, yeah? Your system’s really uneventful, honestly. Boring.” 

Glowworm’s attitude really only added more annoyance to George’s already turbulent emotions. “You just— how far away are we from Lyda?” His voice sounded annoyingly weak, shaking and fraying at the edges.

“Probably a good distance. Why?”

“We don’t— people don’t  _ leave _ my planet— what  _ is  _ that? What are these?  _ Where  _ are you taking me?” George’s hands flew wildly through the air, his panic rising. He gestured towards the wild unknown void punctuated with pinpricks of strange light.  _ This  _ was where all the ships on his little moon came from? 

“I mean, you kinda stowed away on our ship—“

“YOU KIDNAPPED ME?” George said incredulously. He got a blank stare from Glowworm. 

“Depends on who you’d ask, but sure,” Glowworm said. “We’re headed to Ieri for a race. I’ll drop you off there and you can catch a transport back to your little rock, okay?”

“That— I— that fixes only a small portion of the problems I have! For starters, I don’t even know who you are—“

“—Oh, yeah. I’m Sapnap. Masked guy is my buddy Dream. We’re racers—“

“—I don’t know how to get  _ home—“ _

“I can help you with that. That’s the whole transport thing.”

“ _ -what the fuck is a transport— _ “ George spat out. The gravity of his panic did not seem to be affecting Sapnap in the slightest. He halted his frantic stream of words for a moment, his breath hitching as he realized something. “Isn’t— Isn’t most spaceship racing ILLEGAL?!”

Sapnap laughed softly. “Yeah. Makes good money though. Mostly.”

George dug his dull claws into his shoulder. He was just kidnapped by these outlaws, these  _ criminals—  _ what did they even want with him? How was Sapnap staying so nonplussed and lax? They were trapped in a  _ void _ , an endless expanse of nothingness! How could he even  _ escape  _ this? “Why are you so goddamn  _ calm? _ ”

Sapnap just shrugged and went back to messing with the ship controls. George really just wanted to scream at him, to see that stupid, dumb, blank expression slip off his face, to see him finally express something other than mild disinterest. He pressed his claws deeper into his arms, scales meeting scales. His tail thrashed anxiously. Words bubbled to his lips, hot and ready to fire off at the strange, annoyingly unflappable man before him, but he bit his lip and turned tail back into the bigger room, leaving Sapnap to face down the void alone.

He stalked to the only piece of cleanly made furniture in the room, the black table from earlier, and pointedly ignored the masked man. Dream, Sapnap had said his name was, not that it mattered at all to George right now. He glared at the wall, somehow hoping he could will the ship back to his home by sheer force of his anger. Shockingly, this strategy was not effective. They continued jutting along, going the wrong way, taking him away from everything and everyone he’d ever known. 

Lydact were not very sociable creatures. George could count on his claws the number of people he’d gotten to know well enough for him to be able to put a name to a face. He doubted anyone would really notice if he’d suddenly vanished, and the thought wouldn’t have bothered him that much if he wasn’t currently stuck in the most horribly hopeless situation he’d ever been stuck in. No hope of rescue, even if someone did miss him enough. 

Lyda was not known for its space travel resources. The small moon barely supported a little trade town, just enough for George to run his mechanic shop around a few other businesses targeted towards travellers from far-off lands. Just because his brain could fit together pieces of a machine better than most did not mean he knew anything about the situations these things were used in. He’d never even seen these weird sky-fires on Lyda— they were strangely beautiful , in spite of all this. Still incredibly scary-looking and dangerous, but beautiful nonetheless. He was snapped out of his train of thought by a sudden fullbody shiver. Apparently, Sapnap was the ship’s only heat source, which meant that the big room was freezing now that he'd left. Cold meant that George would definitely be more sluggish, and it would make it harder to run away, and he would probably be a half-wit, stumbling around like a beggar in the dark. Perfect for these criminals to try and kill. 

That was just great.

George fought his body trying to sleep. It had been late when he’d started repairs, the parts arriving a bit later than he’d hoped. It was definitely around the time for him to sleep now, judging by the sudden lead weight of his eyelids. His head still pounded slightly from looking at Sapnap for so long. The darkness that now slid across his eyelids would have been very welcome if he wasn’t entirely convinced he was about to die. 

But the cold drifted further over him, oblivious to his plight and wrapping his senses in something heavy and close. His last thought was of the strange mask staring at him from across the room, before he was claimed by unconsciousness.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I GOT A LITTLE IMPATIENT SO YOU GUYS GET A QUICK CHAPTER UPDATE TODAY. don't expect them to always be this fast my dumbass can't keep up w that
> 
> gogy intro hours :^D
> 
> title and summary from starlight brigade by twrp!


	4. oh creator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hello world  
> programmed to work and not to feel  
> not even sure that this is real  
> hello world

Worry manifested in strange ways for Sapnap. Most people, when worried, would, y’know, act worried. Sapnap, on the other hand, just got intensely apathetic, his mind ready to chew at the problem at hand in the back of his mind for a while as he tried to work his way through the motions of life. The appearance of the strangely panicked new Lydact on their ship certainly put a dent in his planned activities, but it took about five seconds to think about how he’d deal with that. The guy just needed to be sent home, and Dream didn’t want to go back to the moon they’d left, so they’d just send him home when they got to Ieri. Easy!

For some reason, the Lydact did not think of it that way. He’d freaked out and started yelling, even though this whole situation was really partially his fault  _ (I mean, who stays in a moving spaceship without any alert?)  _ and then stormed off, which was fine by Sapnap. He knew people needed space sometimes, and he was more than happy to give the prickly lizard a wide berth. 

The source of his worries was none other than the winged idiot sitting sprawled out on the floor. Sapnap exited the cockpit and saw him sitting there, still almost shaking with anxiety. His fists were clenching and unclenching in a repetitive motion of terror, his wings still spread behind him. Sapnap plopped down next to him.

“You know that constantly summoning and unsummoning those will leave you sore tomorrow, right,” Sapnap said, a light tease behind his words. He could see the corners of Dream’s mouth twist up.

“Oh, shut up,” Dream replied, his wings vanishing into a cloud of stardust. His usual emotion wasn’t behind the lighthearted insult. Sapnap cocked his head.

“Do you wanna tell me what happened on that moon, or…?”

Dream sighed, his breath shaking as he exhaled. He was clearly hesitant to speak on the subject, which was understandable, but Sapnap thought it’d be helpful if he was able to tell him what was wrong. “I mean, it’s… it’s not super important,” his friend managed, his mask still obscuring his face, “just a… something weird happening. Freaked me out a bit. That’s all.”

Sapnap knew he wasn’t telling the full truth, but he let the conversation slide. Instead, a wild grin spread across his face. “Hey, Dream?”

Dream glanced up, still seeming distracted. “Mmm?”

“Your little hunk of scrap metal is  _ so  _ going down in that race.”

Dream spluttered indignantly, small flecks of light pouring off him. “Not on your life! Andromeda may be old, but—“

Sapnap snorted, and was pleased to see a small smile make its way onto Dream’s face as he continued rambling. They both knew Dream’s racing cruiser was a total piece of junk. Her seats looked like they barely even existed, much less like they could hold weight, and her rusted plating was messily held together by various patch jobs Sapnap had managed to pull off with his heated fingertips. Sapnap’s pod wasn’t much better off, but he'd conveniently left out that fact. Poor Meteor had been through enough recently with Sapnap’s crash in their last race. 

The race hadn’t been a fair one, but they rarely were. Turns out that criminals didn’t really prioritize playing by the rules, which was fine by Sapnap as long as it meant he got paid.

“Man, Dream, d’you think that asshole with the blue speeder will show up again?” 

Dream groaned exaggeratedly at the statement. “Stars, I hope not. His stupid magnetic field almost cost me the race last time. Totally unfair.”

Sapnap shook his head. “Nahhh, that sounds like loser talk to me.”

“Since when?! That guy  _ totally  _ cheated.”

“Only cheating when you lose.”

“That’s not what cheating is, you idiot!” Dream laughed, lightly swinging at Sapnap’s arm. He seemed to be feeling a bit better now. Good.

They fell into a bit of a lull in the conversation, just sitting and enjoying each other’s company for a while. Dream’s wings stayed dispersed, even as they hit the asteroid belt outside of Ieri. Still, Sapnap made sure to keep a hand on his shoulder the whole way in. He remembered something and swore softly as he got up. Dream looked up at him questioningly. 

“Where’d that weird mechanic guy go? He stormed off a while ago and I haven’t seen him since.”

“OH, SHIT— we took off with that mechanic still on board?!” Dream asked, moving to stand. “We’ll have to send him off on a transport, then.”

“That’s what I told him,” Sapnap complained. “He just got mad at me and sulked away! No clue why.”

Dream shrugged. Sapnap scanned the room, looking for the strange blue-green scales the guy had scattered across his limbs and face. It took him about 0.4 seconds to realize that the mechanic was now passed out on their dining table, sound asleep. He giggled and approached the sleeping form. “Whatcha doin’ there, dude? Need your beauty rest?”

The Lydact jerked awake, and before Sapnap could say anything else, he was already standing and ready to run. Sapnap put his hands up in a placating gesture. “Woah, didn't mean to spook you that badly. Just needed to wake you up.”

Slowly, the mechanic nodded and sat back down. “What do you need, then?”

“We’re approaching Ieri now. We’ll give you some units to catch a transport back to your little moon, like I said earlier. You’ll be home within the next day.”

“Oh. Cool. Thanks.” He rubbed his eyes groggily. Sapnap wondered why the newcomer wouldn’t look fully in his direction before the memory of his question about Sapnap’s glow rose to mind. “Man, why are you so bright? That would serve, like, no purpose in a cave. You’d get eaten so fast.”

“We don’t live in caves, lizard boy.” Sapnap cracked a smile.

The Lydact stared at him. “What? Then where do you live?”

“Well, I like lava pits, those are nice,” Sapnap said, only half kidding. 

Mechanic Guy opened his mouth to say something before Dream’s voice interrupted. “Hey, what’s your name? We, like, kinda know nothing about each other. Names would be nice.”

An awkward silence followed, which Sapnap had half expected. This guy did not seem like the trusting type. Dream cleared his throat. “Um, well, I’m Dream. That’s Sapnap.” Sapnap raised a hand and waved at Mechanic Guy.

Another beat of quiet followed, in which they waited for Mechanic Guy to say something. “...George,” he finally answered. “I’m George.”

“...Neat,” Sapnap said. There was another long stretch of silence before it became slightly unbearable. “Well, I should go, uh, work on getting us landed. See you two in a bit?”

He left for the cockpit, preparing the ship for the landing on the surface of Ieri. The planet seemed decently inhabited, which was good. Landing on Lyda had been a nightmare, rocky surfaces littering the cratered moon like hastily scattered decorations. 

The landing gear deployed without a hitch, setting his heart rate back to its usual pace. He had been worried that the engine damage would somehow affect this process, and that they wouldn’t be able to land. It was a pretty silly fear, but it still lingered behind him the whole time he was working, so subtle he hadn’t even fully known it was there until he was done. The surface grew closer, and he could feel the familiar adrenaline rush as the time for their race drew closer. He grinned as the ship hit its port, walking back to the little living area. 

“Alright, gang,” he said, “race time!”

Him and Dream had given George enough credits to catch a pretty cushy ship back to his home, partially because Dream felt bad for kidnapping him by accident. Sapnap had to admit, he hadn’t known the guy for long, but he might miss him. He’d kept Dream pretty happy while Sapnap had been preoccupied with landing. The soft laughter had drifted through the walls, causing a small smile to slip across his face as he worked. Anyone who could make Dream laugh after such a bad bout of terror from his friend was alright in Sapnap’s mind. 

George had taken one look at their battered star cruisers and lost it. He insisted on giving them repairs, babbling on and on about how Sapnap’s engine needed to be recalibrated or how Dream’s hover tracks were on  _ so  _ loosely. Sapnap thought that this guy was nice, when he wasn’t yelling in his face, so he’d lent a little hand.  _ And  _ he’d only laughed a little when George had gotten oily smudges on his face. He counted that one as a big win. 

Eventually, though, George had left, following the instructions that Dream had written down for him. Sapnap was pretty sad to see him go, but the thrill of the race had started to build up in his bones, and so by the time he was near the track, his blood was practically singing with the promise of a fight. He revved Meteor’s newly tuned up engine, glancing over at Dream’s cruiser. Dream shot him a look, and Sapnap scowled. He knew what that look meant. Cocky bastard. 

Sapnap scanned the lines of other racers, looking for any familiar racers. He spotted the neon blue speeder him and Dream had discussed earlier, and he felt his lip curl a little. Damn it. Dream was right, that racer was annoying. He seemed to be behaving a little strangely, though— his ship was surrounded by a thin, dark mist, just barely visible against the smooth neon paint job of the ship’s exterior. 

Sapnap felt a bit of cold anxiety settle in his ribcage. He chalked it down to pre-race jitters.

The crowd was big today, especially for a hidden arena, he had to admit. He’d long learned how to tune out the roars of large crowds, whether they were approving or jeering. Either one would tear his focus away from what he was doing. The track wasn’t paved over, and it looked to be blocked by a few obstacles. A ridge, a few boulders, nothing too annoying. Meteor would take it like a champ. 

He laid a hand on Meteor’s hood and gripped his handlebars tightly as the countdown to the race began. He could see the green flare that came from Dream’s kickoff light up next to him, and he risked a glance over at his friend, smirking slightly. The air was electric, the calm before a storm. He tried to put the weird mist in the back of his mind as the neon blue speeder revved up.

The lights before him flashed green as the countdown reached zero. He grinned wildly, and in an instant he was sailing away. A shooting star off down the track, leaving nothing but dust in his wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title from hello world by louie zong!!
> 
> AAAAND i’m behind on chapter writing. WHOOPS. hit a bad writer’s block this week, but i’ll definitely still stick to every friday at least! still having lots of fun w this story and i’m super glad that people seem to be enjoying it as well!!
> 
> really grateful to all you readers out there! you make my day :^D


	5. everybody’s gonna hear me out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i’m the right one  
> on your touch tone, touch tone telephone  
> i’m the only one  
> on your AM, AM radio

Why did everything have to be so damn cold? The buildings above George’s head were sterile gray, but the streets pressing against his scaled soles were dirty and rough, unpolished to the highest degree. It reminded him of the floors of the caves from his home, but the open canopy to the lighter sky shattered the hopeful illusion. People mulled about, slinking across the sides of streets and around the corners of buildings. Everybody looked like they had something to hide.

George had never been very fond of crowds. Most Lydact spent the majority of their time alone, sticking to their own little tunnel and only occasionally bumping into others. The biggest crowd he’d ever been in was a particularly big procession of travelers that had filed into his shop, and even then there had only been around 20 people packed into his studio. He'd thought that was all there was to the world, just 20 or so people milling about together, because why would people disregard their safety just to be in groups? Grouping up meant that it would be harder to hide, harder to run. Hardbe unbothered when nobody came back for you.

And yet, here he was, surrounded by throngs of people. The crowd had somewhat thinned around him, but it was still absolutely  _ buzzing  _ with life, hushed tones speaking in strange tongues George had never even heard before. People would laugh, some would fight, but there were so  _ many  _ of them either way— how did any to navigate these stupid open tunnels and these irritatingly distracting people? It was insane!

George felt the bitter rush of panic rise up in his throat as he stared out into the thrumming crowd with wide eyes. His tail thrashed behind him nervously as he clutched the small paper Sapnap had given him to his chest, thinned pupils darting around in a frantic search.

Sapnap had supposedly written the directions to the transport place on the paper, but the chicken scratch labelling the console must have belonged to him, because George could barely make out individual letters on the crumpled page, much less anything resembling  _ words _ . His hesitance must have shown on his face, because Dream had intervened, simply telling him what to look for. He was directed to find a dark gray sign with blue lettering set in a sleek black frame above an angular white building; supposedly the people there would take him back home. He didn't bother asking why Dream was familiar enough with this planet to remember the place so vividly; it didn't seem important enough to risk upsetting him. 

George had watched as they’d set off in the shittiest cruisers he’d ever seen. He’d had to restrain himself from listing everything that was wrong with each of the things, not wanting to prolong this horrible experience any more than he had to. Besides, the way the strange pair treated the craft indicated that the vehicles were very important to them, and George figured that insulting them would just be rude.

As soon as Dream and Sapnap had vanished into the sprawling city, leaving him all by himself, George’s urge to bolt had only multiplied. Nice as the two seemed (or, at least, nice as  _ Dream _ seemed; he still wasn't a fan of Sapnap’s stupidly calm demeanor), they were still criminals, and George did  _ not  _ want to be implicated in whatever illegalities they were planning on committing.

And so he’d set off into the city alone, braving the crowds by himself, looking for a sign in a color described in the vaguest terms possible.  _ Every  _ building looked white and angular here. He couldn’t exactly ask someone on the street about it— not only was the thought of approaching any of these strange, intimidating people terrifying on its own, but nearly everyone in the crowds looked like they'd either try to sell him something horrendously illegal or kidnap him for some underground smuggling ring, and George wasn't interested in being kidnapped  _ again _ , this time on purpose— so he just kept aimlessly searching. Trial and error was bound to work eventually… right…?

Fortunately, Lady Luck seemed to be on George's side, maybe as an apology for the waking nightmare he'd been trapped in. He’d been dropped off close enough to the transport place that a quick turn onto the next street to his left led him straight to the correct building. He’d only had to check a few other strangely similar buildings before finding the one he was looking for, and George was thankful for any amount of spared embarrassment he could muster.

Unfortunately, finding the place seemed to only be the beginning of his troubles. The door at the entrance was unlike any he'd seen before; there were no visible hinges, and the only thing that stood out against the plain white surface were two small, silver handles next to the supposed opening. George tried grabbing the handles and pushing, his claws making small tapping noises against the cool metal as he struggled, but the door remained unbudging, taunting him in its indifference. He frowned at the strange thing, brows furrowing as he tried to make the damn door  _ open _ , to no avail. What was  _ with  _ everything on this planet? Nothing was as it should be, and George was getting  _ very _ sick of it.

Tail lashing behind him in frustration, George straightened up, scowling at the object blocking his path. Maybe it was just stuck? Clicking his teeth, George flexed his claws a few times, before lunging forward, throwing his whole weight at the door. As soon as he moved, however, the doors slid open with a quiet  _ swoosh _ , the motion sensor picking up on the exaggerated movement. Not having expected this, George stumbled as the door slid out of the way, falling through the now-empty space and landing on the floor with a loud  _ thud _ .

George heard the previous ambient noise of the building fade into stunned silence, and felt a sticky mixture of embarrassment and fear creep up his spine, face flushing in mortification. The Lydact scrambled to his feet, eyes cast downward as he tried to ignore the countless pairs of eyes burning his scales and scampered in through the now-open doorway.

Stupid, stupid, of  _ course _ it was a sliding door, how could he be so  _ foolish _ ? Cursing his thoughtlessness under his breath, George let himself look around the room as the ordinary hustle and bustle resumed, judgemental eyes turning away from him, much to his relief.

  
  
  


It took a few moments for the adrenaline to fade a bit, but the anxiety that he had pushed aside in favor of nerve-driven panic returned in full force at the sight of the droids clustered in the center of the room. Three lines of people had formed in front of three of the droids; he could only assume they were waiting their turn for the same thing he was here for. He  _ really _ hoped he was in the right place— George didn’t know what he’d do if he was lost. 

After what felt like an eternity of idly flexing his claws, waving his tail back and forth, and watching the people in front of him thin out among the sea of droids, it was finally his turn at the counter. Anxiety-fueled cave moths wormed their way up from his stomach and into his throat, the itchy ticklish sensation making him feel nauseous. Tucking his tail against his leg to keep it from twitching, George gently ran a claw along the scales coating his left arm, tracing the familiar patterns as he stepped up to the counter.

The droid looked tired and bored, although in the limited experience George had with them, they tended to always look that way. It tilted its head as he stepped forward, gaze dropping to a paper in front of it. “Please present your ID,” it droned, not bothering to look up as it jotted something down on the sheet.

George blinked, face paling. The swarm of moths fluttering in his throat were quickly morphing into a full blown storm of fuzzy bat wings. “I— I, um… what?” He asked, internally cursing himself for the timidity of his voice.

The droid looked up, eyelids drooping in exhausted disbelief, which only made George feel even more inept. “Please present your ID,” it repeated. “We accept galactic passports, system trackers, work records, or any other form of valid identification.”

George just stared blankly. Words were coming out of the droid, but he would be a liar if he claimed to understand any of them. It sighed dismissively, looking back down and scratching out what it had written. “If you don't have any identification then we cannot help you, sir. Please step aside so the next customer can approach the counter.”

George numbly stumbled out of line, eyes wide as he stared at the floor. He nearly tripped over his own tail as he left the building, paper clutched tight in his claws as if it would help him whatsoever. It hadn’t quite set in that the moths clogging his throat had turned into lead, choking him, suffocating him indifferently. It hadn’t quite set in that his only route home had been cut off, locked behind some necessity he didn't understand. It hadn’t quite set in that Dream and Sapnap, his only mode of transportation, were currently caught up in the middle of something that he adamantly refused to go near.

It hadn’t quite set in until it did, all at once. George leaned on the wall outside the transport building as his lungs seemed to seize up, desperately trying to keep himself calm. He was vaguely aware that he needed to breathe slower, steadier than the short, panicked huffs he was currently making, but the ringing in his ears was too overwhelming for him to focus on anything else. Passerby paid him no mind, which he was grateful for, although a small, quiet part of him wished someone would notice his distress, if only so he wouldn't be alone.

He was stranded. He was stuck here, on a planet filled with  _ criminals _ . What was he even supposed to  _ do  _ now? He didn’t even have a way out of this marketplace, much less a way home! It felt like the last sense of rationale he'd had left had collapsed like a shoddily built cavern wall, leaving a conspicuous opening for all manner of predators and vermin to come rushing through into his tunnels, dismantling his composure and feeling of safety..

George wasn't going to cry. Not here, not now, not on the street of a foreign planet, not in front of an entire world of cruel, judgmental strangers.

A plan, a plan, a plan, he needed a damn plan.  _ Now _ . Just somewhere to be in order to keep his head on straight before whatever looming disaster decided to make a fool of him next.

That was simpler, easier to pinpoint than trying to navigate a swirling maelstrom of fragmented thought. His panic slowly ebbed away into a persistent ache, slowing his thoughts to a manageable pace. He only really had one option if he ever wanted to get off this planet; find Dream and Sapnap. They were the only people he knew, the only people he could even remotely trust around here. Okay. Easy! That was easy, easy. George knew where they were, he knew how to find them, and it was a lot more unique than the transport building, easier to pick out. The thought allowed him to catch his breath, panic settling, if only a little.

He didn’t let himself think about the previous taboo he’d held against this race. If he stopped to think right now, he would collapse like a flimsy wall under the force of a powerful cave-in.

Numbly, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, George started off towards the big arena across town. It wasn’t too far off, close enough that he could hear the jeering and the screams of the crowd. Close enough to smell the acrid smoke rising above the open air of the thing. George didn’t let himself think about why there was smoke, either. No use in panicking more.

Static was still buzzing through his ears as he neared the arena, caught in a daze. There was a much smaller crowd here. Less passerby to witness George’s panic, which was about all he registered before he smashed into someone full force. 

He yelped and spun on his heel, an apology already formed on his tongue, only to find the world was still. Nothing moved, no one spoke. The other person didn’t look at him. George’s breaths came shallow and small as his tail curled around his leg. He wasn’t even sure if  _ he  _ was moving, really. The startled daze had become oppressively entangled in his brain, slowing his thoughts to a sluggish crawl. Something was humming, and he wasn’t sure what, but it brought back some distantly buried memory.

George had been small, barely out of his egg at that point. The caves were new and exciting and all kinds of fun for him to explore. He ran and ran and ran through puddles and rocks, he stared in awe at the bright glow worm nests lining the cavern ceilings, he felt the rough bare granite of the caves beneath his claws. He’d tripped and fallen somewhere forbidden, somewhere dark and deep, far, far away from the familiar glow worms. A web had been wound around his body, around his chest and torso and legs. He had been terrified, desperately chirping, calling out for someone,  _ anyone _ to help him. Nobody he knew was in the area, but he didn’t know many people, so he'd still carried some glimmer of hope. Someone had come to his rescue, he knew that much (after all, he was alive now), but he couldn’t remember a name or a face or a voice.

This was the same feeling, the same crushing cocoon of silk binding his chest. Terrifying shadows moving in the cave morphed into fuzzy static bubbling up and popping like magma vents; strong, sticky silk morphed into a numb feeling of cold, cold,  _ cold _ . It was so  _ cold _ and George couldn’t focus on anything except the feeling of fear and drowsy eyes, sleepy thoughts and a rampant sense of terror fighting through the chill.

The static kept droning and droning on, somehow taking a more questioning and amused tone as it buzzed. George didn’t care to figure out how he knew that, too focused on the raw  _ fear _ .

_ you you you youarenotthem you you you  _

George had no clue what to say to that. He might have let out a few distressed chirps, but it was impossible to tell with the flow of time so royally fucked up around him.

_ youarenotthemyoumaygofindhimforme _

—And then suddenly, the ground was rushing up to meet him and the world was moving again and he had to scramble upright to avoid cracking his head on the hard stone ground. The person he’d run into finally turned, saying something angrily, but George didn’t really have the mental capacity to respond, too shaken up. He stumbled past them into the arena, too tired to muster any level of politeness as he shivered, shouldering his way through the crowd. He scanned the racing track, looking for the two who had brought him here, trying to kickstart his brain so it could do more than just scream at him to  _ run _ . 

Finally, he spotted them, the same run-down cruisers sailing around the track. Dream's cruiser was leading the pack, Sapnap's in a close second. The two seemed to be yelling at each other across the tracks by the looks of their laughing lips, though the roaring engines ensured that George couldn’t catch anything specific. He wasn’t sure if they could even hear each other from where they were on their speeders.

The crowd  _ screamed,  _ and George jumped as the noise of grating metal reached his ears. His eyes darted towards the track again, scanning towards whatever unholy creation had just caused the deafening sound. A blue cruiser had just crashed into another racer, sending them careening off-track. George’s heart raced as he realized what that meant, confirming what he'd been dreading this whole time. These races were illegal for a reason. 

The blue cruiser pulled a hairpin turn and slammed directly into the third place racer, whose lead had been diminishing as they desperately swerved to avoid the rogue ship, to no avail. Their ship hit the ground with a sickening  _ crunch _ , reverberating through the arena as the crowd roared. The rogue ship didn’t stop. It kept going, rocketing forward at top speed, and George realized with a jolt that it was gunning for second place.

Sapnap was in second place.

George’s mouth fell open as he stared, helpless to act as the cruiser drew closer, screaming towards Sapnap’s ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title and summary from touch tone telephone by lemon demon!
> 
> LIZARD PANIC POG! and also more fucky wucky time hours wonder what that is!
> 
> super sorry for the missed update this friday gamers, i got sick with a cold this week and that put me into a weird numb mental state for a while. should be back to fridays again next week :^D
> 
> thanks for reading and my quick fic recommendation of the day is schubert’s 8th by demizorua, because they’re so cool and lovely and have helped me enormously with this story, plus it’s a fucking epic l’manburg finale one-shot. go give it a read, it’s so worth it!


	6. like a piston in my chest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i’m a phantom racer  
> justice in a steel machine of death  
> i’ll be right behind you  
> over and over again  
> ‘cause i was born to race  
> and i would die to win

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter wasn’t beta read due to time constraints so enjoy my stupid writing style for a second PFF

Dream saw the light flare green and didn’t think twice. His hands relaxed against the grip of his speeder, and he shot off onto the track. Every little pebble in the dirt sent a shockwave up his spine, keeping him on his toes through the familiar roaring of the opposing engines. He didn’t need to look behind him to know that he’d pulled ahead, if only by a little, and he leaned forward, shifting his weight on Andromeda’s tiny seat. 

The first turn came up. It was a bit more difficult than the usual obstacles, but nothing he couldn’t handle. Dream leaned left, yanking his ship along with him as he swerved around the outcropping of rock jutting up from the ground. He nearly lost his balance, kicking out his leg to stop the momentum from carrying him over the edge. The other engines were getting closer, he could hear them, feel the dust from the road on his neck. His heart hammered in his throat, pounding against his chest as if it wanted to jump out and run away. 

A few more turns after, each turn taking more and more concentration, the track was starting to get a bit predictable, setting Dream on his toes. Something in his gut said that this race was off, something was wrong, he needed to run and never return to the arena. He ignored it and pushed on (it wasn’t exactly like he could back out now. They needed the money). A familiar hum faded in line behind him, and Dream could barely suppress a grin from spreading under his mask. He couldn’t hear Sapnap specifically, but he knew exactly what he’d see if he looked behind him. Same old same old, with his friend.

Dream laughed and swung around the first turn on his second lap. Sapnap was following closely, so close that even the sound of his engine couldn’t conceal the curse he let out as he tried to pull the same move. Dream knew Meteor was faster than Andromeda, both in acceleration and in outright speed, but turns like this would not be good for its shaky-at-best steering. Still, his friend was back behind him in an instant, shouting something Dream could barely hear.

“Oh, Dream!” Sapnap called, giggling while he swerved around a turn again.

Dream couldn’t help the smile that stretched across his face at Sapnap’s stupid call. He opened his mouth to respond, daring to look back for the first time in the race, only for the words to die in his throat at the horrible sound of screeching metal that rang out through the arena. Sapnap’s eyes widened, his mouth set into a hard line, and Dream’s mouth snapped shut. They both knew that sound too well. Someone had gone rogue. 

He turned around, speeding forward towards the line marking his third lap. One more time, and he’d win. And Sapnap was the only one close right now. The rogue ship was at least 4 places behind them--

The scream of an unfamiliar engine roared from behind Dream, forcing him to swallow the words of comfort he’d been about to utter. He risked a glance back. It was that damn blue bastard, the one with the EM pulse that had nearly cost him his last race. EM machines were usually banned from even illegal races-- they were easy to track down, and most people didn’t want to get caught with something like that-- but the past few racing scenes Sapnap and himself had gotten into were a bit less than ideal. The fresh dents and scratches on the exterior of the ship didn’t look promising after the sound Dream had just heard. He looked over at Sapnap, their eyes meeting for a second. The younger man looked as stiff as the rock he was born from, posture crammed into sharp lines and crunched tension. He looked very nervous, almost terrified, and Dream found himself in agreement. It’d been a long, long time since he was forced to deal with a rogue racer, almost since he’d been forced out of his home. They didn’t exactly bring good memories. 

Dream pulled another turn, but he was distracted. Andromeda nearly lost her balance as he glanced back at the rogue, who was still gunning for them. To his immense discomfort, the cruiser was getting closer, and didn’t exactly seem to be slowing down. Sapnap called to him, telling him to focus. Dream leaned forward again, hunched over his cruiser’s controls. The sound of the rogue’s engine bore through his thoughts as he lurched right, diving through one of the final turns of this lap. It was getting closer. He chanced another look behind him and squinted, brows furrowing as he stared. The rogue could have passed him by now, what was he--?

Sapnap. 

Dream’s eyes widened as he realized what the cruiser’s nose was aimed at. The dents in the neon paint job shone in the distant lighting of the arena as the ship careened towards his best friend.

Thinking tended to interfere with doing stupid things, so Dream didn’t tend to think. He’d come up with a plan and then execute it. Simple. Easy. Consequences were things of the future, things for someone he didn’t know yet to deal with. 

So when he yanked on Andromeda’s break and swung his ship around to pull towards the rogue, he didn’t really consider anything other than the fact that he would get the ship off of Sapnap at any cost. He didn’t consider the sound of grinding metal, the force with which he’d be thrown off Andromeda, the needling pain that worked itself up his chest and into his arms as he threw out his wings to catch his fall as the neon blue speeder tore through his ship and blasted him across the arena. He hit the spectator wall with a shock of pain up his back and a groan of protest. Vaguely, he was aware of Sapnap skidding across the finish line, his best friend’s worried face appearing before his currently swimming vision. He really hoped Sapnap had at least grabbed their prize money. 

With Sapnap’s help, he staggered to his feet, wincing slightly as he put weight on his ankle. His wings vanished, which was good-- he didn’t want this whole arena of very morally questionable people to see those-- but he did find himself missing the added energy they gave him, like a shot of caffeine injected into his veins, pure adrenaline concentrated in the stardust. Sapnap glared at him, slinging one of Dream’s arms over his shoulder. “The hell was that, Dream?”

“Got him off you, didn’t it?” Dream grinned, shooting his friend a weak thumbs-up. Sapnap huffed, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips.

“Stars, I don’t think Andromeda…” Sapnap trailed off, wincing as he looked over at the track. Dream didn’t look.

“Probably not,” he replied. His old ship had been through so much, and it felt bad to just leave her here, but a crash like that wasn’t something a cruiser in that condition could survive. Plus, the more they stayed here, the more on edge Dream felt. The air was thick with some unreleased tension, put there by the rogue’s ship, and… and something else, something he couldn’t or wouldn’t place exactly. 

Sapnap helped him board Meteor despite his weak protests before going to grab his payment from the organizers. He was back in a few minutes, and by that time Dream’s foggy head was starting to recover a bit. Dream caught sight of the smoking wreckage of the rogue ship and tried not to feel too bad about what he’d just done. Unlike Andromeda, the rogue’s ship had a closed roof, decreasing the probability that the pilot had been able to simply jump off like Dream had. People in the crowd were screaming, he realized, and the telltale blue lights of a medical ship were bouncing off the arena’s walls. He exchanged a look with Sapnap, and within seconds, Meteor was off. Neither of them particularly wanted to be grilled by the medical staff on their injuries or on how the rogue had passed away, nor did they want to pay for the treatment. Dream would just take it easy for a bit, and the fog in his head would go away, the stinging in his spine would fade. 

A steady stream of people were racing away from the arena, trying their best to look conspicuous as they rushed from the scene of the crime. Crowds weren’t Dream’s favorite thing, but he wasn’t in the right headspace to really care much right now, and being on Meteor ensured that they were given good priority over the pedestrians surrounding them-- at least, until Sapnap stopped. He looked out over the crowd, as if scanning for something. Dream was about to ask him what he was doing, but as it turned out, he didn’t need to. 

“Son of a bitch-- how did he even get here,” Sapnap cried. “We sent him off!”

“Well, looks like something happened there. Change of heart for our dashing personalities?” Dream joked as he laid eyes on the very confused Lydact mechanic barely concealed by the crowd. His blue-green scales and drawn-up stance made him stick out from the neutral tones of the Ieri crowd, who had learned to blend with each other to avoid being caught. Sapnap snorted as he pushed Meteor through the crowd.

The movement of the crowd was so hectic that not even Meteor could cut through it on its own, so Dream and Sapnap hopped off the ship. Sapnap walked it through the sea of people, hands gripped around the bars of his precious speeder like a lifeline. Dream laid a palm across the seat, anchoring himself in the current. “George,” he called out, voice rising above the din of the surrounding people, “we promise not to kidnap you again!”

On second thought, maybe that wasn’t the best thing to yell in a crowd of strangers, but he was pretty sure these people wouldn’t care that much. Dream swung his head back towards Sapnap, a quip at the ready, only for his words to turn to cement in his throat as the movement around him slowed to a crawl.

His heart nearly stopped, and suddenly breathing was a lot harder with the crushing nervousness sitting on his chest. This was eerily reminiscent of the sensation in the inn, the same feeling of immobile helplessness, the same sticky almost-swimming movement. He tried to back up to his friend, drawing on the warmth that radiated off the Scoria, but nothing was there. The shadows in the once crowded street suddenly felt larger, more alive. Dream definitely hated that.

As if responding to his earlier thoughts, the static from the inn started back up in his head, as if it had never left in the first place. No melody, just the sound of error. 

thereyouarelittlestaryoungnebulawhereistheother

Dream was sure if he could respond, his words would come out something like what the hell shit and fuck what the fuck who are you what the hell, but his voice was still caught in his throat, breath hitching on unsaid panic. Even if Sapnap wasn’t warm, Dream still took some comfort in holding his friend close in the dark. He felt small, like a fledgeling again, and he needed this to stop, stop, stop.

theothertheothertheother

wherewherewhere

Dream fell back, stumbling into Sapnap’s back. His friend turned, confused. “Dream-- what? You okay back there?”

Dream only stared, eyes wide behind his mask, mouth stuttering to form words. “I-- I just-- what-- what just happened-- what happened?”

“Woah, you-- you good? We’re going to be out of this crowd soon, okay?” Sapnap didn’t understand-- he thought that Dream’s panic was due to the crowd, he didn’t know, he didn’t know. Dream nodded numbly, tongue tied. His head felt too heavy, the ache in his spine and ribs sharpening to a point as his friend led him out of the shoving stampede of people. There were so many of them, pressing against the sides of his vision. Under normal circumstances, he’d be panicking under the pressure of such a constrained space, but for now, a cold shock was trickling through his body like frostbite. They reached the edge of the crowd as Dream was led along. Sapnap waved over the crowd, yelling to George through the dull roar of footsteps and fragmented conversations. Dream stumbled away from his friend, for just a second, only a moment, before he was nearly bowled over by a wayward stranger from the crowd.

He let out a sharp gasp, flailing in air to try to catch himself. A strong hand shot out to grab his arm, and he looked up into a face full of smiles and starlight. Black eyes, dark cheeks, small horns peeking out over short brown hair. Dream simply stared as the stranger set him upright again, suddenly taking note of the man’s wings. 

Inky black wings were spreading out behind him, dotted with stars and reflections mirroring the man’s eyes and cheeks. The stranger was saying something, but Dream couldn’t really hear it, or process it, whichever of the two required him to understand words at the moment. All he could think about was how similar those wings looked to his own, the same bright pattern sprinkled across his back as he’d hit the ground in the arena.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wonder who that could be oops :)
> 
> chapter title and summary from phantom racer by twrp! can you tell i like twrp yet
> 
> THIS WEEK’S EPIC POG FIC RECOMMENDATION IS you’re human tonight by chrysalizzm!! i have so much brainrot for that idea young benevolent god dream very good and pog and epic please read it i love it
> 
> hope you enjoyed the chapter!! leave a comment if you’d like, i always love reading those. stay safe everyone!


	7. a vision of a foreign shore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you'd give your life away  
> vanish without a trace and  
> you'd give your life away  
> run with the hunted  
> you’d give your life away  
> to anyone you could follow  
> you’d give your life away  
> run with the hunted

Sapnap had heard Dream’s stories. How could he have not, after how long they’d spent with each other? Time had a way of breaking walls like that, especially when the person you’re spending so much time with was stupid and funny and slightly wild. Secrets slip past your guard on late nights, drunk on adrenaline after a theft, shoulders aching from the tense hold they’d been cast in. He knew Dream’s stories, and Dream knew his; neither of them needed to hide much, and if they did, it was understood that the subject wasn’t to be pressed.

The one thing Dream refused to share entirely was currently staring Sapnap in the face from across the crowd, stars spread out as if the man was trying to let the whole damn planet know what he was. 

Sapnap had never really known why Dream had left his home so young, why his planet had cast him out, what had happened to them, but he'd always had theories. The way that in all their travels, neither of them had ever seen another Novani, the way Dream’s mask constantly shrouded his face from view, the way he kept his wings tucked away in public spaces, the gloves he wore to conceal most of his star-bright palms and light-painted fingertips. All of it painted a highly unpleasant picture, one that— while Sapnap didn’t know the truth of— still thrived as a distant idea growing in the back of his mind whenever Dream told him stories of his home. The way Dream’s mask could only half-conceal his panic as he stared headlong at the stranger set all of the Scoria's alarm bells off. If his theory was right, then that would mean… 

It didn’t matter whether he was right or not, did it? Dream was still freaking out— Sapnap could see the way stardust was swirling around him slightly, a telltale sign of sheer panic as his wings tried to gather out of instinct.

Sapnap started towards his friend, trying for some kind of comforting action that he only had half-figured out, but he didn’t get there. The bustling square around him froze, people stuck in place, the lights of the medic’s spaceship burning low against the walls of the buildings around him. Shadows seemed to dance as Sapnap stopped, entirely too confused already to fully process what was going on. Before he could really take a look at what had actually  _ changed _ around him, a voice was slinking through the silence around him, slow and steady and somehow slimy in his head. He flinched as it coiled around his mind, forming barely coherent words.

_ theretheyaretheywillfallyouwillleadmetothem _

Sapnap had no clue who or what was speaking to him, but at this point,

he was very inclined to just tell it to piss off. Whatever stupid, creepy, time-slowing monster had grabbed him, it had  _ better  _ let go before he ripped it apart. Dream needed him, and he wasn’t about to let some weird voice stop him from being there for his friend.

_ youyouyou _

_ lured in  _

“Shut  _ up,”  _ Sapnap told it, words slow and strange in the thick air. 

A shrill cry and bright lights snapped him out of the strange fugue state. Sapnap whirled around, abruptly discovering that he could move again. The shadows had melted back, he noticed, as his gaze swung wildly through the crowd. Where was Dream—? 

A small chirp pierced through the air, scared and confused. Sapnap froze, tilting his head to the side, trying to figure out where the noise had come from. His eyes caught on the blue-green scales of a man on the edge of the crowd, nervously staring at him, a question in his eyes. And that’s when the realization that George probably had never been in a crowd this massive in his entire life and that he would have no idea how to handle whatever was going on with Dream hit him.

Sapnap didn’t particularly enjoy taking charge— that was always more of Dream’s thing, he was more charismatic and better with words whenever they needed something like that— but it looked like he was at least going to have to take over for the next few minutes, before Dream either passed out or took off into the stratosphere from the way his stars were moving, or George got lost in the stampede of pedestrians around them and had no idea how to get back to their ship.

Sapnap helped George onto Meteor, making sure he was secure before grabbing Dream’s arm and yanking him towards the shuttle. He wasn’t trying to be rough, but only a direct intervention was going to stop whatever shock had clearly taken hold of his best friend. Before Dream could protest too much, Sapnap had managed to squeeze him onto the back of Meteor and kicked the motor off. The crowd around them had started to thin as the medics arrived (more than half the people here were about twice as shady as his little group, Sapnap knew), so Sapnap didn’t have a problem with blasting off the pavement as quickly as possible. Meteor wasn’t made for three people to ride, but as out of it as Dream was, Sapnap doubted he’d just let go of the cruiser that was currently carrying him at breakneck speed, so he figured it’d probably be fine. 

The lights were blaring out near the city, but the sirens were distant as they reached the ship. Sapnap quickly dismounted his cruiser, Dream and George following suit as he led Meteor through the ship’s boarding ramp. The air was still between the three of them, silent and stagnant. Dream did not mention the absence of Andromeda, nobody did. Nobody mentioned the peculiar stranger, nobody mentioned George’s home. But they all noticed.

And when Sapnap and Dream went to take off from the pursuit of sirens, George didn’t say anything, eyes still wide and pupils razor-thin in panic. He sat in the common room and picked at his scales quietly. The takeoff was quiet too, and it was starting to grate on Sapnap’s nerves as he prepared the ship for flight. It was just so  _ tense—  _ he couldn’t even remember a time that he and Dream had endured this heavy of a silence. So full of friction, of energy ready to strike open like a coiled spring. He hated it, and so he broke it. “Dream?”

Dream’s head snapped up, as if he hadn’t noticed Sapnap was in the room with him. He took a second before responding, tripping over his words. “I… I— I’m fine, yeah, I’m good. Don’t, uh, don’t worry, Sapnap.”

Sapnap nearly snorted. That was the biggest load of bullshit he’d ever heard from Dream, but if his friend didn’t want to tell him what had just happened, then that was fine. There was probably a reason they’d gotten this far without Sapnap knowing about his home. But he couldn’t just leave it there, really— even if he didn’t need to know  _ why _ Dream was feeling bad, he still wanted to know  _ how _ his friend was feeling. “You don’t have to tell me why, Dream,” Sapnap said, shooting Dream a soft smile over the console. “‘Member, I’m here to help, alright?”

Dream grinned back, hands moving up to adjust his mask. “‘Course. I’d never forget that, idiot.”

Sapnap feigned anger. “Hey! Is it  _ that  _ annoying?”

“God, yeah, you’re so clingy, Sappitus.” Dream exaggerated every word, dragging out the syllables. 

“Listen, I remember a stupid little starling laying all over me after th—“

“Oh, shut up! That was  _ one time,  _ and it’s not like when you tackled me on the damn track after that one guy—“

“Really? It’s not? Then what is it?” Sapnap shot back, the teasing light behind his words. Dream was barely holding back a laugh, and Sapnap was biting his lip to keep back a huge smile. Whatever had just happened was a setback, sure, but they’d recover— they always did! They were already back to their own little world, their own rules, their own rituals. Nothing was going to break that, because nothing ever had before, and it wasn’t going to start now.

Dream opened his mouth to respond when a muffled thump slammed through the cabin, making Sapnap jump. It wasn’t loud, nor was it coming from outside the ship, so it didn’t seem particularly concerning off the bat, but it was still… strange. Sapnap glanced over to his friend, features creased tightly into the shape of a question. “Uh, George,” he called, leaning out into the main room, “everything, like, okay out there?”

“Yeah! Yes, we’re— I’m— nothing’s wrong!” The response he got was breathless and a little panicked, but given that it was George, that seemed pretty normal. Sapnap shrugged, turning back to Dream, but a frown was tugging at the corners of his friend’s mouth. 

“You sure, dude?” Dream yelled, leaning forward in his seat. 

“YEP!” George’s voice sounded strained, too quick and jittery for his response. Dream’s frown deepened, and Sapnap couldn’t help but feel a pang of resentment for the lost moment of joy. Oh, well— he could at least try to fix this as best as possible.

“I can go check on him,” Sapnap said, standing to go. Dream visibly relaxed, letting out a deep exhale and shooting him a grateful look. Hopefully the time alone in the cockpit would let him collect himself a bit more.

Sapnap wandered out of the cabin, a ghost of annoyance rising up his spine. Whatever George was doing, it better not take up too much time. He really did feel bad for the Lydact, but his sympathy only extended so far. 

Weirdly, the mechanic wasn’t in the common area anymore. He didn’t really… have anywhere else to go on the ship, so that was a little concerning. Sapnap frowned, entering out into the hallway that led to his and Dream’s rooms, as well as the engine room. “Hello, George? Where’d you go?”

As if on cue, the mechanic stumbled out of the engine room, looking like he’d just been slapped. Sapnap rushed forward, reaching over to steady him only to be pushed away by George’s thrashing tail. He held his hands up in a placating gesture, and for a second he could have sworn George’s face was harboring a spark of unusual terror. 

“Um, George? You said everything was fine. You, uh… sure about that?”

George’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, his tail curling around his leg. “Yes! That! I said that, yep! And of course I’m sure! Why— why wouldn’t I be sure?” 

He leaned over onto the doorframe, using his arm to prop his head and neck up. Sapnap looked at him dubiously. “Oookay, I’m… you’re looking incredibly suspicious right now. Like, really suspicious. Can I, uh, look into that room over there?”

George’s smile slipped a little before he managed to fix it again. “Of course! This— yep, this is your ship, mhm! Check all you want!”

He seemed to have a bit too hard of a time breaking his pose and moving away from the door for Sapnap’s liking. “Uh… sure, man.”

Sapnap poked his head into the room as George practically imploded behind him. Really, he could’ve felt the guy’s nervous energy from across the damn ship. It was so weird, Sapnap almost missed the man hiding in the dark room.

Almost.

Sapnap shrieked, jumping back from the unexpected arrival. George cringed behind him. 

“Is  _ that _ why you were being so freaky-weird,” Sapnap hissed, gesturing to the man. It was the guy from the crowd, the one with small horns and dim stars and dark wings.

“ _ Listen,  _ I don’t know you people— I thought you’d have me, like, beheaded or something if I told you that a stowaway had gotten on,” George snapped back, voice high on panic.

“Oh, and hiding the mysterious stranger was a  _ much _ better idea!”

“Shut up! There’s nothing I can do about it now,  _ Sapnap. _ I didn’t let him on the fucking ship!”

“Then why’d you even get scared of being caught, dude,” Sapnap snarled, leaning in close. He didn’t know what this random fucker’s presence would do to Dream, and he wasn’t about to let a paranoid lizard hide the problem until Dream found out before Sapnap could help him. 

George stuck his tongue out at Sapnap, who scoffed. “Are we like, two, George? What the fuck do we do with the guy?”

“I— I dunno, idiot! That’s why I was gonna wait to show him to you—“

“—Oh, that was going to turn out  _ so  _ well for you—“

“—Shut  _ up,”  _ George whined, his voice rising for a moment.

“No, you shut up!”

“ _ Now  _ look who’s acting like a two year old.” 

“Stars and planets, who cares! Just look, Dream’s going to  _ freak  _ and I can’t have that happening right now—“ Sapnap tore his eyes away from George’s face, his sentence trailing off. “Where’d he go?”

“Are you  _ kidding,” _ George whimpered as they looked at the now very empty engine room. “How did he get past us so well, we were right by the fucking  _ entrance—“ _

“That doesn’t matter.” Sapnap cut him off. “What does matter is where that guy just went—“

He looked up, shocked orange eyes meeting scared blue ones. “We can’t let Dream see, right?”

George nodded quietly, seemingly biting his tongue in a show of alliance. Sapnap was at least thankful to him for that. “Come on, there’s only a few places for him to be.”

It only took them about three minutes to realize that the winged stranger wasn’t anywhere that they hoped he would be. Instead, he was standing directly in the middle of the common room, staring out of the small circular window they had cut out of the door. When he saw George and Sapnap come in, his expression brightened, and he turned around. “Oh, hi! I’m—“

“Nnnope, none of that, thank you,” George whisper-hissed, trying to prevent the noise from alerting Dream to them. The stranger’s face fell a little.

Sapnap motioned towards himself. “C’mere, c’mere, we can’t let Dream see you like this.”

The stranger’s face lit up like a sun at the mention of Dream. “Are they the one like me?”

Sapnap couldn’t stop the answer from springing from his lips. “Yes, now please, come over here so we can figure something out!”

He turned, ready to depart the room with the winged man only to run nose-to-nose into Dream’s porcelain mask.

“Oh,” Dream said. Sapnap shut his eyes tight.

“Hey, Dream.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title and summary from run with the hunted by skyhill!
> 
> i’m now 15 everyone wish me a happy midlife crisis (my birthday was on tuesday lol). fun fact my phone bluescreened twice while i tried to edit this, no clue why, google docs was throwing a fit apparently?
> 
> winter break is for the next few weeks starting today, but i’ll be out in another state camping for the duration of it, so i’m not sure how regularly i’ll be able to update this. sorry if updates go out the window for a bit, i swear it’s not my choice!
> 
> hope you liked the chapter! leave a comment if you did. today’s fic recommendation is oh, ana by demizorua (the epic beta reader of this fic ily bro <3)! it’s a ghostyinnit au fic, so there’s lots of tws for death, and suicide, and all that wild mental trauma that tommy went through in exile, so fair warning. but it IS really pretty and a great concept, and it’s still a wip!! link here: 
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/68942856?show_comments=true&view_full_work=false#comment_373176822
> 
> have a great day, everyone, and stay safe over the holidays! <3


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